Masonic Temple

THE GRAND AND imposing Masonic Temple in the 200 block of North Charles Street looks as if it should have been built in Paris, not Baltimore. With its marble walls, ornate decoration and huge mansard, the building presents a serious institutional look, obscured in mystery. I know of few who have actually entered the place and survived to tell of it, excluding those who have shopped in the music stores that flank the building's entrance.The Masons have relocated to the valley, and the building is up for sale.

On March 4, 2009 JACQUELINE WALKER. Friends may visit the family owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME WEST, INC., 4300 Wabash Ave. TODAY after 10 a.m. The family will receive friends on Monday at the Masonic Temple, 2105 McCulloh Street at 10 a.m.; funeral service to follow at 10:30.

Nearly lost to the wrecking ball several years ago, the Maryland Masonic Temple at 221-227 N. Charles St. is the next local landmark in line for a full-blown restoration. The William C. Smith Co. is turning the building into the Tremont Grand, a 90,000-square-foot conference and banquet facility that will be operated as an extension of its Tremont Plaza Hotel on the same block. The seven-story building was constructed in 1869 as a meeting hall for the Grand Lodge of Masons of Maryland and restored after fires in 1890 and 1908.

On February 10, 2009, MERLEE S. PERKINS. Friends may visit the family-owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME WEST INC., 4300 Wabash Avenue on Monday after 8:30 AM. The family will receive friends on Tuesday at 10 AM. Funeral service will follow at 11 AM at the Masonic Temple, 1301 Eutaw Place. Interment 10:45 AM Wednesday at Garrison Forest Veterans Cemetery.

A CHARLES STREET landmark is off the endangered list this month after it was sold to a company that owns two hotels nearby.The Masonic Temple, a seven-story building at 223-225 N. Charles St., was sold for $500,000 last month to William C. Smith Co., owner of Tremont Plaza Hotel at 222 St. Paul Place. and Tremont Hotel at 8 E. Pleasant St. in Baltimore.The sale ends more than a year of uncertainty about the vacant building, also known as the Grand Lodge of Maryland.Though it's considered one of Charles Street's gems, the 129-year-old building is unprotected by landmark status and preservationists feared it would be torn down to make way for a parking lot. It was partially stripped of ornaments and fixtures during an "attic sale" in 1997, but many of the items have since been returned.

After weeks of wrangling over architectural preservation and pillaged antique fixtures, the deal to sell the downtown Masonic Temple has collapsed over a far more prosaic issue: who controls the parking lot.Lawyer and Baltimore Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos said in a statement yesterday that he'd terminated his purchase contract with the Masons, a secretive fraternal organization, because "it has become impossible for the seller to deliver both the building...

The once-secret halls of a downtown Masonic temple have undergone a $27 million transformation to attract brides, banquets and businessmen, adding a new competitor in Baltimore's meetings and events market. The recently opened Tremont Grand, in the 200 block of N. Charles St., is linked to the 300-suite Tremont Plaza by a walkway. With 45,000 square feet of meeting space, the hotel is second only to the much larger Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, with 79,500 square feet of meeting space.

CHRIS SMITH STILL REMEMbers the first time he toured Baltimore's Masonic Temple. It was 25 years ago and, as the new owner of a nearby apartment and office tower that he was converting to a hotel, he was invited to explore the mysterious palace built for the secret rites and ceremonies of Maryland's Freemasons. He marveled at the lavish Corinthian Room, with its coffered ceiling and marble balustrades; the ornate Oriental Room, with its geometric decorations and ogee-shaped windows; and the intimate Chapel, with its religious mural and medallions -- all exquisitely crafted, all reserved for members and guests of the intensely private fraternal organization.

On November 12, 2006, PERRY WILLIAM STEWART, SR.; beloved husband of Charlotte Stewart. On Sunday, friends may call at Vaughn C. Greene Funeral Services, 4905 York Road where the family will receive friends from 3 to 8 P.m. Fraternal Services to be held on Monday from 7 to 9 P.M. at the Masonic Temple, 1307 Eutaw Street. On Tuesday, the family will receive friends at the Masonic Temple from 11:30 A.M. to 12 P.M. with services to follow. Inquiries to 410-433-7500.

On March 4, 2009 JACQUELINE WALKER. Friends may visit the family owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME WEST, INC., 4300 Wabash Ave. TODAY after 10 a.m. The family will receive friends on Monday at the Masonic Temple, 2105 McCulloh Street at 10 a.m.; funeral service to follow at 10:30.

One year after local preservationists and community leaders voiced concerns that Baltimore's Scottish Rite Temple of Freemasonry might be demolished to make way for new development, the building no longer appears threatened by the wrecker's ball. It's not completely off the endangered list, either. Leaders of the Masonic order that owns the neoClassical building at 3800 N. Charles St. have decided for now to stay at their current location rather than pursue a plan to sell the property and use the money to move to Baltimore County, according to representative Ray Leppo.

On January 25, 2007 NICOLE DENISE, Survived by Daughter, Tricia S. McLaughlin, Father Ahmad Burundi (Kathy), Brothers Johnnie Hill and Shariff Burundi, Sister, Patrice Blackwell and a host of other family and friends. Friends may call the WYLIE FUNERAL HOME P.A OF BALTIMORE COUNTY, 9200 Liberty Road on Friday from 6-8 p.m. Services will be held Saturday at the Willard W. Allen Masonic Temple , 1307 Eutaw Place, 10:00 Wake10:30 am Funeral. Internment Following. Inquiries www.wyliefuneralhome.

On November 12, 2006, PERRY WILLIAM STEWART, SR.; beloved husband of Charlotte Stewart. On Sunday, friends may call at Vaughn C. Greene Funeral Services, 4905 York Road where the family will receive friends from 3 to 8 P.m. Fraternal Services to be held on Monday from 7 to 9 P.M. at the Masonic Temple, 1307 Eutaw Street. On Tuesday, the family will receive friends at the Masonic Temple from 11:30 A.M. to 12 P.M. with services to follow. Inquiries to 410-433-7500.

The once-secret halls of a downtown Masonic temple have undergone a $27 million transformation to attract brides, banquets and businessmen, adding a new competitor in Baltimore's meetings and events market. The recently opened Tremont Grand, in the 200 block of N. Charles St., is linked to the 300-suite Tremont Plaza by a walkway. With 45,000 square feet of meeting space, the hotel is second only to the much larger Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, with 79,500 square feet of meeting space.

CHRIS SMITH STILL REMEMbers the first time he toured Baltimore's Masonic Temple. It was 25 years ago and, as the new owner of a nearby apartment and office tower that he was converting to a hotel, he was invited to explore the mysterious palace built for the secret rites and ceremonies of Maryland's Freemasons. He marveled at the lavish Corinthian Room, with its coffered ceiling and marble balustrades; the ornate Oriental Room, with its geometric decorations and ogee-shaped windows; and the intimate Chapel, with its religious mural and medallions -- all exquisitely crafted, all reserved for members and guests of the intensely private fraternal organization.

Nearly lost to the wrecking ball several years ago, the Maryland Masonic Temple at 221-227 N. Charles St. is the next local landmark in line for a full-blown restoration. The William C. Smith Co. is turning the building into the Tremont Grand, a 90,000-square-foot conference and banquet facility that will be operated as an extension of its Tremont Plaza Hotel on the same block. The seven-story building was constructed in 1869 as a meeting hall for the Grand Lodge of Masons of Maryland and restored after fires in 1890 and 1908.

On February 10, 2009, MERLEE S. PERKINS. Friends may visit the family-owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME WEST INC., 4300 Wabash Avenue on Monday after 8:30 AM. The family will receive friends on Tuesday at 10 AM. Funeral service will follow at 11 AM at the Masonic Temple, 1301 Eutaw Place. Interment 10:45 AM Wednesday at Garrison Forest Veterans Cemetery.

Baltimore's historic Masonic Temple might soon belong to local attorney and Orioles majority owner Peter G. Angelos, who intends to preserve it for new occupants -- possibly an expansion of Baltimore's School for the Arts.Angelos confirmed yesterday that he heads a group that has a contract to buy the seven-story building at 223-225 N. Charles St., formally known as the Grand Lodge of Maryland, and an adjacent parking lot. The purchase price is $2.2 million."At this juncture, the chances are very, very strong that we'll complete the purchase," he said.

Four years after purchasing Baltimore's historic Masonic Temple to save it from demolition, a Washington-based hotelier plans to invest $10 million to restore it as a full-service banquet and conference facility. The William C. Smith Co., owner of the Tremont Plaza Hotel at 222 St. Paul Place and the Tremont Hotel at 8 E. Pleasant St., has hired Murphy & Dittenhafer of Baltimore for the restoration and modernization of the seven-story building at 223-225 N. Charles St. The Smith Co.'s plans call for the 1869 meeting palace to become an extension of the Tremont Plaza.

ONCE AGAIN, Baltimore's historic Masonic Temple has been rescued from the wrecking ball.Baltimore's Department of Public Works has developed a plan that would enable the city to build a 570-space garage near Charles Street without razing any part of the seven-level meeting hall at 223-225 N. Charles St. or the six-story office building next to it, home of the Downtown Partnership.The latest plan, to be presented today to Baltimore's Planning Commission, calls for the $10 million garage to be constructed in place of the 115-space Allright parking lot east of the Masonic Temple.